Into the Sun
by kirstennn
Summary: Leah Clearwater, Jacob Black. "Now it's time to step out of the desert and into the sun."
1. One

It's cold out, just like any other day. There are clouds in the sky, but the sun manages to peek out, grey light filtering down. There are leaves on the ground, more black than red, or orange. The trees look like skeletons, arms ever-reaching toward the sky, but never grabbing anything.

Leah is sitting on the top step of her back porch, wearing only a white slip and brown cowboy boots. Her legs touch at the knees, feet pointing at each other. Her arms are crossed and resting on a black box on top of her lap. Her eyes are closed.

The wind around her whistles, sweeps up her hair, twists and tangles it with its force. She's barely breathing.

Inside, the doorbell chimes. Leah doesn't make a move.

The wind slows, then halts altogether. She can hear a slow, sappy love song playing from the end of the block.

The doorbell rings again. But instead of patient silence, she hears the door creak open. Shoes hit the wood floor, their volume increasing with their proximity. The back door opens, and then there's one more thud of shoes against wood.

"I rang the doorbell," he says.

_Jacob._

The wind picks up again. Leaves dance in circles, rustling as they go. Jacob takes one stride closer to Leah, then sits down next to her. His legs are so long, he has to put his feet on the step below hers. Their ankles are touching, and it's almost too much heat for her to bear.

"They're all wondering about you," he says. "They're all wondering where you went."

Leah inhales, exhales. She opens her eyes, turns her head to face him. "Well, you found me."

A sad smile crosses Jacob's face. "I'm sorry," he whispers.

Leah laughs. "For what?" He pauses, shakes his head, then shrugs. She purses her lips, then turns back to face her yard. Jacob does the same. "It's been windy all day," she says. "Do you think it will rain?"

Jacob looks up and around. "Maybe," he says. "That would suck." He turns to face Leah again. His eyes scan up and down her body. He notices she's not wearing the same thing she was an hour ago. He notices the nondescript black box on her lap. Jacob nods his head toward it. "What's the box for?" he asks.

Leah abruptly looks down, as if she didn't even know it was there. She takes it in one of her hands, struggles against its weight, and sets it down on the step next to her foot.

"Are you going back to the party?" she asks him.

Jacob thinks for a second, purses his lips, then shakes his head. "No. The food's gone. So is the beer. That's what you get for feeding a whole pack of wolves."

A smile creeps across her lips. "While you're here, could you do me a favor?" she asks. Jacob nods his head.

Leah jumps up from the porch and sprints to the tool shed in the corner of the yard. She disappears inside for a second, but returns with two rakes in one hand, and a grill lighter in the other.

"Help me rake up these leaves before it gets windy again," she yells from across the yard.

Jacob steals a glance at the black box, then jumps up to join her. Leah hands him the rake, sticks the lighter in her left boot, and together, they gather the leaves.

Together, they make an odd picture. Leah's only wearing a slip and cowboy boots, her hair is knotted, and her knees are dry. Jacob's wearing dress shoes, his nicest black slacks, and a white button up shirt, only buttoned up half way, and bunched at the elbows.

They work quickly, and soon enough, there is a large pile of leaves in the center of Leah's backyard. Leah throws her rake to the side, and Jake does the same.

She approaches the pile and grabs the lighter out of her boot. She picks up one leaf, lights it up, and throws it onto the others. Its affect is slow, so Leah puts the lighter right onto the pile of leaves.

Soon enough, the whole pile is aflame. Jacob stands in front of it, feels its heat on his body. The smell of burning leaves drifts to his nose, almost makes him gag.

"Wait here and watch the fire," Leah says. Black smoke rises from the flames. Jacob can hear applause from down the street. Leah returns, black box in hand.

She opens it, and Jacob steals a look inside.

There are pictures, but he can't see what they're of. There are folded up pieces of paper, but he can't read what they say. Leah picks one up between her thumb and forefinger. Her face goes completely blank as she studies the picture. A second later, her eyebrows knit together, and then she crumples it up and throws it onto the fire.

She does this for more pictures, and more notes, more than Jacob can keep track of.

The wind picks up again. He looks up to the sky. The clouds have turned black. A storm is coming.

Leah pays no mind to the weather, just continues to throw pictures onto the fire. Jacob keeps switching his gaze between her and the sky.

Soon enough, it starts to rain. Leah doesn't seem to notice, until the fire begins to flicker. In a mad rush, she throws the whole box onto the fire.

There's a crack of thunder. The rain feels like bullets on Jacob's skin. The fire is completely out now, but the box and its remains are still intact. He looks up to Leah, her hair soaked. Even through the rain he can tell that she's crying. He can't decide if she looks pathetic or beautiful. He switches his gaze to the box. Inside, he can see a picture of Sam and Leah in her bedroom. A picture of Sam and Leah on the beach. A note with the name "Sam" written in loopy cursive. Hundreds and hundreds of the same.

He looks back up to Leah, whose slip is completely soaked through. It's clinging to her naked body, and Leah is shivering. Whether it's from the cold of the rain, or from her crying, he's not sure.

For some reason, Jacob has the impulse to reach his hand out to her, to comfort her, to protect her. Without thinking, he grabs Leah by the crook of her arm, and pulls her with a force he doesn't intend. She almost collapses into him. He holds her tightly in his arms.

"It's okay," he whispers, stroking the back of her hair. Leah's violent shivers rattle through his own body.

Down the street, Jacob can hear echoes of "To Sam and Emily!"


	2. Two

The grass is still wet from yesterday's rain. The bottom of Jacob's cargo shorts is soaked through as he sits, the moisture touching his butt. He looks around his front yard, there is no movement, no sounds. He slants forward and removes his hands from behind him, rubs them together to remove the mud and grass. Leaning, he puts his forearms on his knees, crossing them at the wrists. He inhales deeply, feels the moisture from the air in his throat, then exhales calmly, evenly. For once in his life, Jacob feels truly at peace.

That is, until Leah Clearwater comes sauntering down his sidewalk. Jacob sighs. She stops right in front of the grass.

"Can I come sit with you?" she says. Instinctually, Jacob nods, although he instantly wishes he didn't.

Leah walks toward him, and as she does, Jacob notes the squish of her bare feet on the wet ground. He reckons it's the only sound being made on the whole reservation. She stops right at his heels and sits in pike position, facing him. Her posture is anything but perfect as she rests her hands on her lap. She says nothing, only looks down, studying her hands in silence.

Jacob grows irritated with each passing second. Yesterday, he might have tolerated Leah. Honestly, yesterday he pitied her. But today, being with her feels like a chore. He assumed that today they would go back to hating each other.

"Why are you here?" he asks brusquely.

Leah shrugs. She looks up, and Jacob can't place the expression on her face. It's almost sheepish, but he knows for a fact that Leah Clearwater has never done a sheepish thing in her life. "Isn't it crazy that only two people can leave, and the res seems so much more empty?"

Jacob knits his eyebrows, he doesn't know what she's getting at.

"Anyways," she says. "Thanks, I guess. For yesterday."

Jacob's jaw falls. This is the first time she's ever said thanks to him, to anyone, probably. He looks up at her and she looks completely different than he's ever seen her. Her eyes are softer, her lips aren't pursed. Her head is almost bowed to him. The image of Leah confuses him, because he's sure that it isn't the same Leah that he knows.

Instead of saying anything further, he nods his head curtly. Leah does the same, then fixes her gaze back onto her hands in her lap. They sit in silence for what seems like hours, but now, Jacob doesn't feel resentment toward her.

His mind is a jumble as he recalls yesterday's events. He feels the same confusion, the same impulse to help her as he did the day before. For reasons he can't quite explain, he feels comfortable being with Leah.

And it confuses the shit out of him.

Before he can think about it anymore, the sound of a speeding car breaks the silence. Out of the corner of his eye, Jake sees a silver Volvo just past the tree line that separates the res from the outside world. The image immediately registers in his mind. As the car passes his house at lightning speed, he swears he can see Bella in the passenger seat.

A wild snarl escapes his lips. Leah looks up at him, then follows his line of vision to the rapidly disappearing car. Jacob is slowly lifting himself off of the ground, onto all fours.

"Jake," Leah says, low. "Jake, don't," she warns. But before she can stop him, he is bounding down the street. In a flash, his clothes explode off of him, and float back to the ground. "Fuck," she mutters below her breath.

Leah jumps up, sprinting after Jake. She keeps her eyes trained on him, pulling her clothes off as she goes. As she hops down the street, trying to get out of her shorts, she realizes how funny it is to see this huge dog chasing after the fastest car on the Olympic peninsula.

Once she's completely naked, she wills herself to phase. It doesn't take much for her to feel the red-hot sensation on her skin, and soon after, she's running on all fours. _Jake, you ass, _she says. Jacob is about a quarter mile ahead of her, but the car is nowhere in sight. It's not hard to figure out where he's headed, though, with vampire stench hanging thick in the air.

_Stay out of this, Leah._ Despite Jacob's warnings, Leah runs faster to catch up with him.

_You have to stop chasing things that aren't yours! _she says. Jake doesn't respond. Leah pushes forward, until she and Jake are shoulder to shoulder. _Face it Jake, she doesn't want you!_

Jacob turns his head to her and snarls. All of a sudden, he's no longer moving forward, but charging into Leah. His momentum sends the two of them tumbling into the middle of the street. Jacob rolls her around, so that he is on top of her.

Before Leah can do anything to protect herself, Jacob tears into her. He claws at her chest and bites at her face, completely disregarding the fact that she's a member of the pack.

Leah wriggles around underneath him, trying helplessly to turn him over. Jacob throws his head back, and in that second, Leah uses all her strength to throw him off of herself. Her force sends Jacob flying into a nearby tree at the edge of the forest, and as he hits it, its last leaves shake off.

_Fuck you, Leah Clearwater, _he spits_._ Leah gets on all fours and phases back to her human form. She picks herself up off the ground and dusts the road tar off of her skin. She touches her face, then looks at her hand, looks at the blood dripping from her fingertips.

"You asshole," she spits. Jake phases back to human form as well, stands up, and picks wet leaves off of himself. "Who do you think I am, Emily fuckin' Young?"

Jacob snorts. "You mean Emily _Uley." _Leah's breath catches in her chest. Jake smirks at her, but his expression fades as her face pulls together. Leah is baring her teeth at him, as if she were still a wolf, and a low growl is rumbling in her throat.

With a wild cry, Leah runs at Jake, tackles him to the ground and begins punching him. She grunts as her fists land across his face, his shoulders, his chest, each hit making a satisfying "crunch." Despite the fact that she may very well have broken his collar bone, Jacob's last comment leaves him with a smile.

"Fuck you!" she yells in between hits. Jacob ignores the pain in his chest, and reaches his hands out in an attempt to grab Leah's arms.

"He doesn't want you, Leah!" he taunts, hands darting around to catch hers. "He doesn't love you!" Almost as if to prove him wrong, Leah coils her arm back and sends it flying toward his lips. Jacob's mouth fills with blood, but he ignores the taste and grabs Leah's fist.

She continues to punch him with her left hand, but it's obvious that she's growing tired. He takes advantage of this and throws his hand out to grab her other fist. Leah pulls her arms back and forth in an attempt to set herself free, but Jacob keeps a firm grip on her.

Leah quits moving, and the two just stare each other in the eye. They are both panting heavily, their chests rising higher than ever before. Without breaking eye contact, Jacob leans his head to the side and spits out the blood in his mouth.

The two of them are breathing silently, now. A drop of blood from Leah's forehead falls onto Jacob's chest. The look in both of their eyes changes from hatred to slight embarrassment. They are both acutely conscious of the other's presence.

Leah pries her fists out of Jake's hands, and this time, he obliges. She steps up off of him, then stands above him. "I could spit on you right now," she says. "I want to so bad." She wipes her forearm against her face, wiping away the blood, sweat, and dirt. With her bloody arm, she leans down and offers her hand to him.

Jacob takes it and pulls himself up. They both look down at themselves, dusting themselves off. Jake notices a wet spot on his abs. He touches his fingers to it, it's warm and slick. When he figures out what it is, he realizes he's been holding his breath.

Jake glances up to Leah, who is still dusting herself off. A pang of guilt courses through his veins. She is covered in blood, from the top of her forehead down to her chest. Jacob's jaw falls and his face heats up. Despite all of the gashes on her face and body, he feels attracted to her. He doesn't know why, but he doesn't believe it's because of her nudity. He's seen her like this before, but now, some animalistic sense is pulling him to her.

Leah looks up to see Jacob staring straight at her, mouth agape. When they lock eyes, both of them replace the looks on their faces with that of pure terror. Leah instinctively reaches her hand down to her groin, and drapes her other arm over her breasts. Jacob follows suit, and cups his hands over himself.

They stand facing each other for a minute more, not saying a word. Neither of them knows what to say. Neither of them wants to make the first move. The res is silent, and the only thing that either of them can hear is their quiet breathing.

Jake feels the pull in his stomach again, almost as if his body is telling him to be near Leah. His mind is telling him to stay away, but the pull is winning the battle. After what seems like days, Jake drops his arms and takes one cautious step toward Leah. She gasps, startled by his movement, and leans backward a little.

"Leah," he says. He reaches out one hand toward her, taking another cautious step.

Jake takes another step, but this time, he moves confidently. "Leah, we're both broken people." He lifts his hand up, offering it to Leah. "We can help each other," he says. He almost sounds ashamed. Leah looks at his upturned palm for a second, then places her hand in his.

Jacob puts his free hand on Leah's cheek. He studies her face, notes the drying blood, the scars already forming. He rubs his thumb along the apple of her cheek, feeling how soft her skin is. He studies her full lips, her straight nose, and then her eyes.

Jake's breath catches in his chest. She looks different than Jake has ever seen her. Her eyes are so clear and so honest. For the first time in his life, Jacob sees Leah as a woman, and not as some bitter bitch.

Unaware of what he's doing, Jake leans in and reaches his lips toward Leah's.

His movement slows, and their lips are micro-millimeters from each other. Then Leah stops.

She looks up to him with puppy dog eyes, and Jacob sees an emotion in them that registers quickly. Fear.

Before he knows it, Leah is running away, bare feet pounding against the damp forest floor.


	3. Three

**Author's note:** I can't believe I forgot to include this before, but THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to my AMAZING betas Stacey and Tori!

* * *

Leah is halfway to her house when she sees her cutoff shorts in the middle of the road.

She slows her sprint, contemplating how bad it would be for her to come home bloodied and naked. The image of her mother fainting crosses her mind, so when she nears the shorts, she stops to put them on, figuring it's better to just be bloody.

Two hundred feet away, she spots her tank top laying across Jacob's front yard. Leah runs to it, kneels to grab it, and when she is standing straight up again, she notices Billy Black in the front window. He's just shaking his head back and forth. Embarrassed, Leah hurriedly pulls on the shirt, and runs toward her own house.

She opens the door, and the first thing she sees is Seth sitting at the kitchen table, working on a sudoku puzzle. He glances at her briefly then returns to his puzzle. She crosses the kitchen, walks to the sink and turns on the faucet. Leah bows her head in front of the sink, and holds her hands out to cup the water. Out of nowhere, Seth whips his head around to face Leah.

"What the fuck happened to you?!" he says.

Leah splashes her face with the water and grabs the dish towel from the stove. She wipes her face with it, staining the whole towel light red. She reaches over to turn off the faucet and mutters, "I got in a fight."

She catches her reflection in a spoon and sees that her face is still red. She groans and turns on the faucet again. Seth puts his pencil down on top of the newspaper and walks over to her. She splashes her face with water as he leans over her and asks, "Who with?"

Leah turns to him and glares, water still dripping down her face. Seth shrugs and watches as she towels herself off once more. "Well did you at least win?" he adds.

She looks down at the spoon again and takes a look at her face. Several pink gashes run down either side of her eyes, and continue down her neck. She grunts, realizing how much she now resembles her cousin. Leah's upper lip curls into a sneer, before she spits right onto her reflection in the spoon.

"Hello-oo?" Seth calls. Leah snaps back into reality, shaking her head. She throws the bloody dishtowel on the counter, grabs a dirty cup, rinses it out and fills it with water.

She stays frozen in her position, just holding the cup in her hand for a second. Seth waits with bated breath. Leah puts the cup to her lips and downs its contents in less than five seconds. She places the cup back into the sink and exhales deeply.

She turns to face him, looks him straight in the eyes and says "No," before turning away and walking to her room.

Leah closes the door behind her and begins taking off her clothes. When she lifts her arms over her head to take off her shirt her elbows make a disgusting "crack". Leah grunts and flings the bloody shirt onto her bed. Just as she begins to undo the button of her shorts, there's a knock on her door.

"Leah, what should I do with that dishtowel?" Seth calls. Leah groans. "Mom will be home soon."

"Seth, you're a grown boy, figure it out yourself," she replies, wrapping a towel around herself. She opens the door to find Seth standing right in front of her. "Move," she demands, "I need to take a shower."

He reaches one of his hands out to touch her shoulder, then decides against it. "Leah, seriously, are you okay?" he asks. Leah shoots him the death stare. Seth shrugs and heads to the living room.

Leah locks the bathroom door behind her and drops her towel. She sees herself in the mirror for the first time. Leah studies herself closely. There are scars on both sides of her cheeks. One of her eyebrows has a slash right down the middle of it. On the left side of her neck, there are three long gashes. Her chest and shoulders are decorated with an array of red lines.

She reaches her right hand up to touch the cuts, and her whole arm aches. When she looks at her fist, she notices the knuckles are bloody and peeling in some places.

Leah looks back in the mirror, and though her face essentially looks the same, she can hardly recognize herself. Despite the scars, she looks almost nothing like her school portrait from last year. Her hair is much shorter, her face much harder. She has a wrinkle in her forehead that wasn't there before, and her eyes look so much more tired than they used to.

Leah sighs and reaches to slide the mirror over, revealing a medicine cabinet. Her fingers search the shelves for the scar cream, but she can't find it. She tries again, her eyes frantically sweeping over the contents of the cabinet, but it's not there. Frustrated, she swipes both her hands over the shelves, knocking all their contents into the sink and onto the floor.

Leah can feel her skin trembling, so she takes a second to contain herself. She takes one very long, very deep breath, and balls both of her fists up. When she closes her left hand, she feels a sharp pain. She opens her hand and brings her palm closer to her face to look at it.

A piece of glass is sticking out from her hand, and there is another cut a few inches from it, from when she balled up her fist. Leah yells out, "Goddamn it!" tearing the shard out of her palm. "All I need is another fucking cut!" she yells, before stepping into the shower.

In the living room, Seth's ears perk up at this, but he decides to pay it no mind. There's a knock at the front door. Seth looks up from his sudoku and yells, "It's open!" The door creaks open slowly, and Jacob steps in.

"Seth," he says. "Where's Leah?" Jacob is wearing only cargo shorts, as usual. Seth notices he is holding his left arm in an odd position, and that his lip is bloody.

"Aw, don't tell me you got in a fight, too," Seth says.

Jacob, taken aback, shakes his head. "No, no, no," he says. "I fell off my bike." Seth looks at him skeptically, but takes it.

"Leah's in the shower." Jacob nods his head a few times, eyes wandering around the room. "Do you want to wait for her?"

Jacob's eyes lock on Seth's. "No," he says quickly. "I, uh, actually gotta go."

Seth narrows his eyes at Jake. "Are you okay? Did you hit your head or something?" he asks.

Jacob lets out a nervous chuckle, and looks to his feet, before slipping out the door.

Just as the front door closes, the door to the bathroom opens. Leah walks out, wrapped in a towel.

"Jacob came by to see you," Seth yells to her.

"Ugh!" Leah grunts, slamming her bedroom door behind her.

"Okay," he says to himself, rolling his eyes.

Before he has time to set his pencil back onto the newspaper, he hears the kitchen door open.

"I'm home!" Sue yells. Seth hears her putting down her bags on the counter. "What the hell is this?" she says.

Seth looks over to the kitchen. His mom is standing in the archway, holding Leah's bloody towel in her hand.

"It's, uh," he stutters. He glances over to Leah's room, and just a second later, Leah emerges, wearing the same clothes she came home in.

Sue looks at Leah, sees that the collar of her tank top is covered in blood. Her eyes travel upward to the marks and gashes on Leah's chest, shoulders, neck and face. She looks at her dishtowel, then back at her daughter, quickly connecting the two in her mind.

Leah looks up to see Sue in the archway. Her expression changes from annoyance to that of a deer in the headlights.

"What's with the shirt?" Sue says, more angry than worried.

Leah swipes her palm across her forehead. "It's my last clean one," she mumbles.

"Do you care to explain how it got so 'clean?'"

"I got in a fight."

Sue scoffs. "That much I can tell, Leah." She sighs and crosses her arms. Her face softens. "You need to keep it together," she says, faintly.

Leah narrows her eyes and purses her lips, trying so hard not to lash out at her mother. Sue shakes her head and crosses Leah, heading into her own room. Leah lets out a loud sigh and heads for the front door.

"Wait!" Seth yells. "Where are you going?"

"Out," she grunts. She looks over to Seth, who is staring back at her with puppy dog eyes. She sighs. "I'm going to the store to pick up some smokes," she says, stepping out of the doorway.

When she turns to face her front yard, she sees Jacob sitting on the top step of her porch. Leah groans, tilting her head back and hunching her shoulders. Jacob looks back behind him, and jumps up to face her. She covers her face with her hands and sighs. "What do you want?" she says, dragging her hands down her face.

"I'm sorry," Jacob says. Leah sneers and pushes past him. He turns and follows her.

"_What_ do you _want?"_ she repeats, power walking down the sidewalk.

"I... I just wanted to say that I'm sorry," he stutters.

"Well you already did that," she bites, not stopping.

"Leah," Jake says, desperately. She ignores him, continuing down the block. Jacob quickens his step and finds himself right behind her. "Leah!" he says again, grabbing her by the elbow.

She turns around to face him. "What?" she barks, pulling her elbow away from him.

He takes a step toward her, closing the space between them. "Listen," he says, his voice low. "I know you feel the same way I do." Leah sneers at him. "I _know_ it, Leah." She continues to stare him down, but Jacob is not phased. "I'm not going to take no for an answer."

"I don't know what you're trying to accomplish, Black," Leah hisses. "I don't know what you _think_ you saw. But whatever emotion or action you're trying to milk out of me, just know that I will _not_ melt for you." She turns away from him and begins to walk away, but stops after a few steps and pivots to face him.

Jacob is caught again by her unfamiliar expression. The look on Leah's face is a mix of agony and exhaustion. "I don't know who you take me for," she breathes. "What happened there was a fluke and that's it."

Leah stares Jacob down for one second more, before marching off down the block.

Jacob stays standing where he is. He lets her get further away, before calling after her, "You can keep pretending Leah." His statement doesn't phase her as she continues stomping away. "But don't forget that I will find out, eventually."

At first, Leah continues on her march, but within five seconds she stops completely. Her shoulders hunch as she brings her hands up to her bowed head. A pang of guilt rushes through Jacob, realizing that he just hurt her. The obligation that he's had for the past two days to help her takes hold of him again.

Jacob sighs, then starts off toward Leah. When he is ten feet from her, he can hear her sighing deeply, almost as if she is sobbing without the tears. He takes four steps closer to her and reaches his hand to her back. "Leah," he breathes.

She drops her hands from her face and turns around to face him. They catch eyes and Jacob's heart sinks. Leah wears the look of the mercilessly defeated. She looks so much older and so much worn than Jacob has ever seen her.

Leah lowers her eyes and whispers, "You have _no_ idea how hard these past few days have been for me."

Jacob opens his mouth to say something, but nothing comes to mind. Leah looks like she might start to cry at any second. This Leah is so vulnerable, and so completely foreign to Jake. It makes him feel ashamed for any wrong he's ever done against her.

For the first time in his life, Jacob feels as if he can relate to Leah.

He sighs and wraps his warm hands over hers. "I do know," he breathes. Leah looks up at him. He rubs his thumb along the top of her raw knuckles "We can help each other," he says.

Jacob takes his right hand and gently touches the cut in Leah's eyebrow. His thumb traces along the line of her face, stopping to feel the apple of her cheek. His long fingers settle behind her ears, tangling themselves up in her hair.

Jacob closes his eyes, and Leah does the same as he leans his head down to hers.

Their lips touch, it's barely enough to be classified as a kiss, but for some reason both Jake and Leah are left breathless.

Leah's eyes flutter open and lock onto Jake's. There's something sweet and accepting in them, a look she only recognizes from when he would talk about Bella Swan. The corner of Leah's mouth curls up into a tiny grin.

Then, out of nowhere, a cry of "Hi-yi!" fills the air. Both Jake and Leah look up and around to find its source.

There, on the other side of the street, stands Embry Call with his eyebrows knitted in confusion.


	4. Four

**Author's Note: **So sorry that this has taken so long to update! Things have been crazy over in my corner of the world. Hopefully this chapter can serve as an apology! Chapter five is also on it's way, hopefully the wait won't be too long!

Enjoy!  


* * *

Alone at home, Leah sits on the couch with last Sunday's paper in her left hand and a stubby pencil in the other. Her brow creases as she works on Seth's unfinished sudoku puzzle, erasing some of his notes and adding in a few of her own. There's a knock on the door, and Leah yells, "One second!" without looking away.

She writes down the number 9 in one of the boxes, considers her move with the pencil tip in her mouth, then erases it. There's another knock on the door. "Coming!" she yells, setting down the paper and the pencil.

When she opens it, she is facing Jacob Black, who is waving a fresh pack of Newport menthols in front of her. She smirks, stepping out of the door frame. "You don't smoke," she says, more of a question than a statement.

Jacob shakes his head and smiles. "But you do." Leah smiles bigger than Jacob's ever witnessed in his life. The rare sight makes Jacob's heart soar, and he's more than happy to hand the box over to her.

The two sit on the top step of her porch, and Jacob watches as Leah hurriedly tears open the cellophane wrapping. She throws the wrapping in his lap, turns the back upside down, and begins to smack it against her hand. She stop after a moment, and the way she deftly flips open the top of the box, unwrapping the gold foil paper reminds him of Christmas. Leah looks over to Jake, smiles again and nudges him on the shoulder. She plucks a cigarette from the middle of the box and puts it in her mouth, leaning back to fish an ever-present lighter out of her pocket.

Jake watches in awe as she flicks the fire to life, holding it up to the cigarette. She inhales and the tip of the cigarette turns orange. Leah closes her eyes, holds the smoke inside, then finally exhales.

"Thank you," she says, quietly. "It's not often boys come by with presents." She inhales the smoke again, and exhales, saying, "How did you know Newports are my brand?"

Jake smirks, touches his pointer finger to his temple and then to hers. Leah laughs, and though it seems like nothing, it's the most genuine laugh he can remember hearing from her. He looks at her in wonder, noting the faint pink scars on her face, now barely noticeable.

Leah sighs contentedly. She looks to Jake and smiles once more, asks, "Do you want a drag?"

He bites his lip as he decides what to do. After a moment, he pinches the cigarette from in between her fingertips and places it on his own lips. He inhales the smoke, feels the menthol on his tongue and the fire in his throat. He coughs heavily, sending puffs of gray smoke into the air. Leah smirks. He holds the cigarette out for her, smiles and asks, "What's your favorite movie?"

Leah raises one eyebrow and grabs for the cigarette. "Really? Are we doing this?" Jake pulls his hand away from her, hiding the square. Leah glares at him, touches her pointer finger to her temple and then to his.

"Ha!" Jake sneaks another quick drag from the cigarette, fakes how much he is enjoying it just to torment Leah, and then blows the smoke right into her face. "You know I don't know that. How could I possibly know that? When have you ever thought about your favorite movie when we were phased?"

Leah pushes up against him, reaches her arm around his body and grabs the cigarette from his fingers. She inhales the last of the cigarette, imitates Jake's expression, and blows the smoke in his face. "It's _The Notebook."_ She flicks the cigarette butt onto her front lawn. "It's, like, so cute, ohmygod I cry, like, everytime!"

"That wouldn't surprise me," Jake says, cooly. Leah's smirk fades. They stare at each other a moment more before Leah breaks away and reaches for the cigarette box. She puts another in her mouth and lights up.

"_The Virgin Suicides,_" she mumbles, cigarette bobbing up and down between her lips. She takes another drag, then passes it onto Jake, who takes a short drag and hands it back to her.

"What's that about?"

Leah exhales. "It's about these virgins," she says, turning her head to him. "They commit suicide." She smirks and Jacob plucks the cigarette right out of her lips. "And you, Mr. Black?"

Jake laughs and takes a drag. "You know, I'm gonna have to go with _The Notebook._ I literally bawl like a baby every single time." Leah rolls her eyes, but smiles at him. "What's your favorite color?"

"Easy. Orange. You?" she says, sucking in the smoke.

"Green. Favorite band?"

"Sublime."

Jacob takes the last drag and crushes the cigarette on the porch. He smiles and says, "Me too."

A smile spreads across her lips as she nods her head. "No way! I never met another Indian who liked Sublime! Sam used to-" She stops when she realizes Jacob isn't smiling anymore. "Well," she says, shrugging. "Yeah, you're the only other one."

Jacob nods once, and Leah looks down at her hands. They are both silent for what seems like an eternity. Out of nervous habit, Leah reaches for the cigarettes. Jacob puts his hand over hers. "Cool it with the smokes," he says, with a harshness he doesn't intend. Leah looks up at him, almost frightened, and bites her lip. Jake shakes his head, tries to shake out his aggression. "I mean, you should save them for some other time," he murmurs. Leah drops her gaze and drops the cigarettes back onto the porch.

She sighs and folds her hands in her lap. "I'm sorry," she breathes. "It's just," she sighs again and shakes her head. She looks up to him with renewed sincerity. "What is this?" she asks. Jacob doesn't know what to say, just sits there with his mouth slightly open. "I mean, is this a date?"

Jacob opens his mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. Leah sighs again, bites her lower lip. "It's just-" she shrugs and looks back down at her hands. "I guess I haven't really been on a date in like, two years," she whispers.

"Leah, I-" he starts. "I don't... I'm sorry," he says. She shrugs, and he swears he can feel his heart crack. Desperate to fix what he's done, he turns his body toward her and puts his hands over hers. "I understand." She doesn't respond, just continues to look down, no matter how hard he tries to catch her eyes. Jacob lifts one of his hands off of hers and taps his index finger on her temple, then on his own.

She looks up at him and smiles weakly. "We're fucked up aren't we?" she breathes. Jacob's eyebrows knit together. "Both holding on to something that doesn't belong to us."

He sighs and leans in toward her, placing a tentative kiss on her forehead. With his lips still on her forehead, he says, "We belong to each other." Leah closes her eyes for a second, contemplating Jacob's statement. She pulls away from him, smiles and nods curtly.

"Thanks," she whispers. Jacob smiles and tangles his fingers in hers, squeezing her hand. Leah studies his kind face, his welcoming eyes and tries to imitate what she sees, hoping to show Jacob that she is capable of being more than a heartless bitch. She doesn't quite know if it's working, so she leans into him, resting her head on his shoulder.

They share a moment of peace, but soon, both notice something odd in the forest. The tip of the tallest tree is swaying back and forth rhythmically, almost like a metronome. A flock of birds flies from the tree top and into the blue sky. The swaying is becoming deeper and deeper, until finally, the tip of the tree pulls all the way to the left then snaps violently back to the right.

The sound of splitting branches fills the air at the exact same time as a loud, frantic yell. Leah immediately lifts her head off of Jacob's shoulder, and slowly starts toward the forest. Jacob stands, unsure if he should follow her or not. A nanosecond later, a loud thud reverberates through the forest, and Jake can swear he feels its impact underneath his own feet. A broken yelp pierces both of their ears.

Leah looks back at Jake frantically, then bounds off into the forest, yelling, "Seth!" Jacob follows right after her.

The two find him in the middle of the trees, laying still on the forest floor. Broken branches and leaves are scattered around him. Leah drops to her knees in front of him. She's moving her head back and forth, surveying the damage. Seth's elbow and ankle are bent at unnatural angles, broken by the impact. Leah looks back at Jake, her expression completely panicked. Her mouth is open, but no sounds are coming out.

_Help me,_ she mouths. Jake rushes to Seth's other side and tries, as gently as he can, to wedge his arms underneath the boy. Seth cringes as he yells. "Seth, it's okay, I got you," Jacob coos. He moves past Leah, who is still on her knees, and toward the Clearwater house. After a few steps, Jacob looks back to her and calls out, "Leah, come on!"

Soon the trio is at the house, and Leah is holding the door open for Jake and Seth. Jake holds the younger boy as Leah runs her fingers through her hair.

"We should put him in my parent's room," she says. "His bed is so small." Jacob nods and heads over to the open door at the end of the hallway, maneuvers himself so as not to jostle Seth. He sets him down on the bed as gently as he can, but still, Seth cries out from the movement.

Jake turns back to Leah, who is holding her head in her hands. "Leah," he says. She looks up to him, and Jacob is taken aback completely. There are tears in her eyes, she looks lost and is gasping for air. He pulls her close, rubbing her back.

"Leah, everything is all right. Boys get hurt sometimes, it's okay," he reassures. He leans back and tries to catch her eyes. She's avoiding his gaze, looking around the room frantically, unsure of what to do. He takes her chin in one of his hands, forcing her to look at him. "Hey," he says softly, "It's okay. You just need to tell me what to do."

Leah nods and takes a deep breath, trying to pull herself together. "My mom," she starts, her voice quivering. "She's at your house." Jacob nods and runs out of the door. Leah lets out a huge sigh, then turns back to Seth. Her brother is breathing raggedly, wincing with every tiny movement. Leah stifles a gasp, and falls to Seth's side.

"What the hell were you doing up there?" she demands.

"I just wanted to see the bird's nest."

"The bir-" she yells, then bites her lip. "Are you retarded? That tree has got to be a hundred feet tall!"

"I thought I could do it," Seth whimpers.

"Seth, you-" She sighs heavily, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "You could have-" She can't bring herself to finish the sentence.

"I'm sorry," he murmurs. His quiet apology sends the tears flowing down Leah's eyes. She leans her head on Seth's bare stomach, choking back her sobs. Seth reaches his good hand down to Leah's head and strokes her hair. "It's okay, Leah," he breathes. "I'm here."

The sound of the front door flying open distracts Leah from her tears. She looks up to find her mother and Jacob coming through the bedroom door. Sue flings her bags to the corner of the room, rushing to Seth's side. She takes one look at her daughter, reassuringly rubs her back, then coos, "Leah, move out of the way so I can look at him." She nods, moving toward Jacob.

"Can you move your arm?" she asks. Seth bites his lip and tries as hard as he can, but to no affect. "How about your shoulder or your foot?" He tries once again, to the same end.

Sue sighs and rubs her temples. "Seth, you are never, ever, ever, going to do something stupid like this again, okay?" Seth nods. "I'm going to pop your shoulder back in, and it will hurt like hell, but I promise it will feel better if you let me do it, okay?" He bites his lip and nods weakly as Sue places one hand on his shoulder and the other on his biceps. She leans into him and begins to push his shoulder back into the right place.

Seth winces and screams at the top of his lungs, begs, "No-no-no, stop it!" through gasps of air. Leah squeezes her eyes shut and curls into Jacob. He puts his arms around her, pressing her close to himself. Finally, there is a loud pop, and Seth lets out a sigh of relief.

Sue smiles weakly at her son, then grabs a pair of folded up socks from her dresser and puts them in Seth's hand. "Can you try and squeeze this for me, honey?" Seth nods weakly and tightens his grip ever so slightly. Sue traces her hands along his arm, feeling for his injury. He winces, but tries to keep the sound down as much as possible, so as not to upset Leah anymore. Sue sighs. "It's a damn shame we can't take you to the doctor. This is going to hurt, Seth," she warns. Seth nods, but is not totally prepared when his mother lifts his arm, aligning the bones in the right way. He cries out loudly and beads of sweat roll down his brow. Leah's arms fly up to cover her ears as she presses even closer to Jacob.

Sue turns to the two of them, then looks to Jacob. "The brace." Jacob breaks away from Leah for a moment, reaches for his old metal brace in one of Sue's bags and hands it to her. He resumes his position with Leah, and watches as Sue fastens the velcro over Seth's sinewy arm.

She moves down his body, to his leg and does the same. Seth bites his lip as she twists his foot back into its correct position, pulling his leg straight. Sue grabs the other brace, and straps it on while Seth lets out a cathartic sigh.

With all the hard work done, Sue kneels by Seth's shoulders. She strokes his head a few times, wiping away the sweat and dirt. "Seth," she whispers. "Are you okay?" He smiles timidly in response. Sue nods and her jaw tightens. "Please don't ever scare me like this again." Seth, eyes closed, nods weakly. "You and your sister, you both mean the world to me." Sue looks down, taking deep breaths. Leah closes her eyes and buries herself in Jacob. "If I ever lost one of you-" she starts. Tears threaten the corners of her eyes. She looks up to Seth, reaches her hand to his face and gently pinches his cheek. "You look more like your father everyday." When Seth catches her eyes, he sees all the words that his mother can't say. Sue shakes her head, then leans in and kisses him on the forehead.

"I'll let you rest," she says quietly. "I'm going to go to the store to buy some pain killers." As she passes Leah and Jacob on the way out of the room, she stops and puts her hand on Jacob's shoulder. She looks at him, then to Leah, and then fixes her gaze on Jacob. "Thank you," she says, heavy with words left unsaid, then excuses herself. Jacob nods, but isn't entirely sure what she's thanking him for.

Seth takes a deep breath then opens his eyes and smiles. Both Leah and Jacob's brows pull together.

"So what," Seth murmurs. "Are you two together now?"

Leah looks up at Jacob then back to her brother. She shakes her head, stutters "I-"

Jacob takes her hand in his, looks down at her, then to Seth. "Yeah, we are."

Seth smiles weakly.

"It's about time."


	5. Five

Leah is sitting on her couch, working on a sudoku puzzle that she swears she's already done before, when she has the sudden urge to take a walk through the forest. She sets the newspaper and her pencil down on the coffee table and stands up. When she looks around, she sees her brother leaning in the kitchen doorway. He's giving her a look that burns through her, equal parts incriminating and curious. A smile dances on her lips and she laughs lightly. The pitch is shrill and she barely recognizes it as her own voice.

_You can't leave_, Seth says, but his mouth doesn't move. Leah doesn't recognize his voice either, it's got the boom and power that reminds her of something that she can't quite place. She sneers at her brother, then brings her two open hands to her temples, making moose ears just like when she was little. She sticks out her tongue at him, but he remains unfazed. Leah pouts a little, then turns on her heel and heads out of the door.

The forest is dark, except for slivers of moonlight that break through the trees. Leah can hardly see two feet in front of her, but she knows the forest well. She walks forward, unafraid. She can taste the salt from the ocean on her tongue and feel the breeze on her skin. She closes her eyes for one second, enjoying the calm night, but does not stop moving. There's a loud 'thump' noise and a pain in her foot. When she opens her eyes, she sees she is falling. Her foot has caught on a twisted branch. She hits the ground with no injury.

She looks up and there he is, standing right in front of her, arms crossed. His hair is long again, but he wears the same somber expression that he's worn for months now. _Leah,_ he says. His voice echoes throughout the forest. He eyes her up and down critically, and Leah can feel herself shrinking before him. After a minute of studying her, he crouches down and reaches his hand out to her. Leah looks at it, then hesitantly puts her hand in his.

His expression doesn't change, though a coy smile creeps onto her own lips. He stares at her, intensely, then suddenly snaps his head up. Leah hears a faraway growling. He looks down at her, then back up into the distance.

From behind her ears, Leah hears a familiar voice yelling, "Leah, get up!" but she can't quite tell who it is. Sam looks to her once more, with a sneer on his face. He throws her hand away from himself, disgustedly, and stands straight up again. Another call fills the air, but this time, it's much louder. "Leah, get up!"

Leah wakes with a start.

Her eyelids flutter open and her eyes slowly adjust to the bright light. She blinks a few times, and images of Sam in the forest flash just beneath her vision. When her eyes are focused, she sees Jacob sitting at the foot of her bed. She thinks of her dream, and places the familiar voice. "Why did you do that?" she barks.

He throws his head back and laughs. The sound bounces off the walls in her small room. "Get up," he says. "Put on clothes. We're going to the bonfire."

She groans again, buries her face in her pillow and attempts to kick Jake off her bed. He doesn't budge and Leah wonders if he even notices it. After a few tries, she gives up completely.

"Get out of my room!"

Jacob laughs again. "Get up, let's go. We gotta get to the bonfire before all the food is gone."

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

He sets his hand on her back and leans in slightly. "It's four o'clock, the sun is starting to set, you need to get out of your bed," he says softly. "It's Embry's birthday. There's a bonfire. The food is going as we speak."

"Fuck Embry and fuck you," Leah barks. "I was on patrol until six o'clock this morning. I need to sleep."

A smirk dances across Jacob's face. "There's a case of Miller in my car, and if you get up, I promise that six of those beers are yours."

Leah jumps out of her bed. "All you had to say was beer," she laughs, grabbing a pair of shorts from the floor. Jacob chuckles and watches her as she pulls the shorts on and fastens the button. "If you yelled 'fire,'" she says, digging through her closet for a decent shirt, "I wouldn't have moved as fast as 'beer.'"

Jacob laughs as she pulls a shirt from a hanger. "I'll remember that for next time."

Leah slips on a light blue button up, not bothering to undo all the buttons. Jacob eyes the shirt. It's formal, and a little bit bigger than Leah. He knows he's seen it before, but not on her. Leah notices him staring. "It's Seth's," she says, as she rolls up the sleeves. "Or it was. He's too big for it now. You guys are giants." Jake looks up to her and smiles. "I didn't grow that much. It fits me fine."

Jake eyes her up and down once more. The first few buttons of the shirt are undone and the top of Leah's bra is peeking out. He smiles. "It does." Leah looks down, then sneers back at Jacob, fastening the next button up.

"All right, perv," she announces. "Let's go, it's beer time." Leah turns to go, but Jake stands up and catches her hand before she's out of her bedroom door.

"Wait," he says, turning her right back around. He pulls her to him, placing one of his hands on her hip and the other on her face. He leans down and tenderly kisses her. When he goes back to kiss her again, Leah's hands are on his chest, pushing him away.

Leah glares. "What was that?"

Jacob furrows his brow. "A kiss." Leah breaks away from him, starting toward the door. "What, you didn't like it?" he calls, following her out of the house.

Leah turns and leans on the hood of Jacob's car, arms crossed. Jacob stands on her porch, a little deflated. "You don't know me like that, Jacob."

Jake crosses his arms over his chest, adopting Leah's stance. "Then how do I know you?" Leah bites her lip and shrugs. Jacob sighs and jumps down from her porch, skipping the steps all together, then closes the gap between them in three long strides. "You're my girlfriend, aren't you?" Leah shrugs, arms still locked over her heart. "And you have been for, what, two weeks now?"

"I guess."

Jacob places his hands on her hips once more and leans in slowly, until his face is an inch from hers. "And I can't kiss you?" he says, his voice low and hushed. Leah dodges his eyes and pulls her face away from his. Jacob groans and steps away from her. "What are we, eleven?"

She shrugs again, not meeting his gaze. She turns away from him, and heads toward the passenger side door. "I don't know, let's just go, okay?" she whines.

Jacob groans again, then unlocks the drivers side door. He and Leah duck inside the car, and before Jacob can even put the key in the ignition, Leah twists herself around, reaching for a beer in the back seat. Jacob rolls his eyes. Leah pulls the tab of the beer open and takes a sip. Jake scoffs. He reaches over her body and pulls her seat belt over her, clicking it into place. He does the same for himself, then turns the ignition on. He throws the car into gear, backs out of her driveway and speeds toward the beach, all with a scowl on his face.

The car ride is silent, except for occasional slurps from Leah. When they get to the beach, Jacob parks the car and kills the engine. He unbuckles himself, then turns to the backseat and grabs the open case of beer. He throws his door open, drops the case of beer onto the road and is about to get out of the car when Leah puts her hand on his arm.

"Wait," she mutters. Jacob sinks back into his seat and looks at her, one eyebrow cocked. She shakes her head a little, averting his gaze. "I didn't mean it," she mumbles. She looks back up to him and shrugs.

Jacob smirks. "No?"

Leah's lips curl into a smile. "Nope," she whispers, leaning into him. Leah's hand travels up Jacob's chest and onto his neck. Her hand finds purchase on his nape and she tugs gently at his hair.

Jacob's lips meet hers and they part for him, easily. A smile creeps onto his lips as his tongue traces the points in her teeth. His hand finds its way onto her lap, then on her hand, where she's still holding her warm beer. Soon enough, his tongue is tangled up in hers and he can faintly taste the beer she's been drinking and the menthol from her cigarettes.

Leah moans softly into his mouth, presses her body as close to him as her seatbelt will allow. Jacob chuckles lightly, then slowly backs away from her. Leah keeps her hand on his neck, trying to pull him closer while she pushes as far as she can. The seatbelt locks into place, and Leah finds herself restrained. Finally, she gives in and undoes the buckle. She notices that she's no longer holding her beer at the same time the seatbelt retracts.

When she looks up, Jacob is smirking and pounding down the last of the can. Leah playfully glares as Jacob crushes the can and slips out of the car. He throws the can to a garbage bin across the street. It travels in a perfect arch and lands gracefully in the bin. Jacob looks back into the car and grins at her.

"I wasn't done with that, so that doesn't count. I still get six beers," she says, opening her door.

"Sure, sure," Jake laughs. "Hey do me a favor and grab those Captain handles back there?"

Leah can't help but smile as she reaches in the back seat for the bottles of Captain Morgan. She picks them up, steps out of the car and kicks the door shut. Jacob is standing close by her, case of beer in tow.

"You ready?" he asks, donning his usual stupid grin.

Leah scoffs. "For what?"

"Our debut."

Leah is taken aback by his comment, but realizes that it's true. Her stomach churns. She takes a deep breath and lifts up her shoulders. "No big deal." Jacob chuckles and flashes her a big smile, then heads off towards the beach. Leah follows a step behind him.

She surveys the crowd. Off in one part of the beach are the council elders, sitting in a circle. Her mother is waving her arms around, and Billy Black is calmly nodding his head. Opposite from them, sitting at a picnic table, are the imprints. All of the younger girls are crowded around Emily, who is showcasing photos. Emily stops to point out a detail in a photograph and the other girls look to each other and smile excitedly. Leah scoffs as she passes them.

Near the forest, the younger boys in the pack gather around Seth, who is showing off his brace. They all "ooo" and "ah" when Seth illustrates how he fell off the tree with his good hand.

In the center of everything is the bonfire, where the older members of the pack are gathered. Each one of them has something in their hands, whether it's a hot dog or a beer. As the two near the fire, all of the boys turn around to greet them.

A chorus of "Jacob!" fills the air, followed by an unconvincingly enthusiastic "Leah!" Leah's shoulders sink. She glares in the general direction of the sound, but she can't discern who said it.

Embry steps forward from the circle. "So you made it!" he says, taking the case of beer from Jacob and setting it down.

Jacob hugs Embry tightly, and Leah stands by, guarding herself with the bottles of rum. When they part, Jake exclaims, "Happy birthday!"

"It is, it is!"

Jacob motions to Leah. "We got you some Captain!" Leah takes it as her cue to showcase the liquor, so she fakes a smile and lifts up the handles.

"All right!" Embry exclaims, taking the bottles from Leah. He smiles at her genuinely, and she awkwardly bobs her head up and down. "Thanks!" Jacob flashes a smile at Leah, then heads off to the other side of the fire, where Quil is holding a hotdog for him. Embry makes a yipping sound and Jared's head pops up. Embry throws the bottles up into the air and Jared catches them easily. Leah rolls her eyes. "Want a beer?" Embry offers.

"Sure," Leah replies, trying not to sound too eager. Embry leans down and grabs two warm beers from the case. He pops both of the tabs open, then hands one to Leah. "To a long life," Leah flatly toasts, tapping her can on his. Embry throws his head back and lets out a loud belly laugh. She doesn't get what's so funny, so she cocks her eyebrow and stares.

After a minute, Embry's laughter transforms into a nerdy sort of snorting sound. Leah is still furrowing her brow at him. "Look at me!" Embry says. "I'm not getting any older!" Leah cracks a half hearted smile.

"I guess you're right," she murmurs. Embry smiles at her, though the gesture is skewed by the can at his mouth. Leah takes a big gulp of hers and the two just stand there for a while. Leah is about to leave when Embry opens up his mouth.

"I saw you two making out over there," he says, gesturing with his beer to Jacob's car.

Leah's eyes go wide, and at first she doesn't know how to respond. She decides on saying the first thing that comes to mind, "That's the creepiest thing I've ever heard."

Embry shrugs nonchalantly. "I mean, it's not like I haven't seen you guys kiss before."

Leah shakes her head slowly. "That's still pretty creepy."

"I mean, it doesn't bother me," he says, taking another sip of his beer.

She sneers. "It definitely bothers me."

Embry chuckles. "I mean about you two going out." He kills the last of the can. "I think it's cool," he says, pitching the can into the same garbage bin that Jacob used.

Leah stands there for a second, eyebrow cocked. "You do?"

Embry shrugs again. "Yeah, why not? You two are good for each other. Jacob was all sad before, and you were such a bitch."

Leah scoffs and tenses her muscles. "I can still be a bitch," she retorts, defensively. "I _am_ a bitch."

Embry's annoying, loud laugh fills the air again. When he comes down, he snorts, "Sure, sure." Leah scowls at him, but he doesn't notice. "You toasted to me," he says, matter-of-factly.

Leah shakes her head at him, not quite sure what he's getting at. "So?"

Embry chuckles again, then shrugs. "You want a hot dog?" he asks. Leah shrugs. Embry beckons to Jared. Jared chucks a bun to Embry, and he catches it easily. Jared then leans down in front of the fire and grabs a straightened out wire hanger with a hot dog at the end of it. He tosses it like a javelin across the beach, and Embry catches it using the bun as a mitt. Embry pulls the wire out of the hot dog and hands the whole thing over to Leah. "Enjoy," he says, with a smile. Leah half-smiles back at him and he walks away.

Alone, Leah downs the rest of her beer, then turns to the garbage bin. She tosses her can lightly into the air, and smirks proudly to herself when it lands neatly in the bin. When she turns back toward the fire, Emily is staring at her from her picnic bench.

Leah glares and Emily lowers her gaze. "Leah," she chirps, "would you like to see some photos from the hon- from our trip?" The rest of the girls look up at her eagerly.

"No," Leah barks, with a tone that screams "how dare you even ask?"

Emily sighs, then smiles and turns back to the girls at the table. Leah rolls her eyes, bringing the hot dog to her mouth. She nibbles at it absentmindedly as she stares off into the horizon. The setting sun lights up the edge of the ocean as it makes its descent. The sky above is turning a gorgeous purple color. Leah almost loses herself in the beauty of it all, but she is snapped back into reality.

"Leah!" Jacob calls. She locks eyes with him. He smiles sweetly, then mimes a cup in his hand, tilting his head back. Leah smiles back and leans down, grabbing him a beer. She tosses it across the fire, and Jacob catches it with ease. He smiles for her once more, then pops the tab of the can. He leans back and downs the can in one swift movement. When he looks back up, he sees that Sam Uley has appeared at his side.

Sam is standing tall and proud, with his arms crossed and his chest puffed out. Jacob cocks his eyebrows and rolls his eyes, scoffing at Sam's display of masculinity. Jake lifts the beer can to eye level, and with perfect form, tosses it across the beach and into a garbage bin. Sam doesn't move, just continues staring off into the distance. Jacob chuckles to himself underneath his breath, then adopts Sam's pose. The two stand there, still as giant statues, and it's hard to tell who is the leader of whom.

A second passes in silence. Jacob can feel the tension hanging thick in the air, he breathes it in calmly. Finally, Sam clears his throat. Jacob smirks to himself.

"So," Sam starts. "You and Leah are a thing now?" he says, putting extra emphasis on the last two words.

Jacob scoffs. "Don't be mad cuz I didn't ask your permission."

Out of the corner of his eye, Jacob sees Sam's jaw tensing. "I'm not mad at that," Sam says, teeth clenched.

Jacob cocks his eyebrows. "Yeah?"

"You know what could happen," he says. He clenches his jaw once more. "_One of you," _he says, "is going to end up hurt." His tone makes it clear who he is talking about.

"Like you hurt Leah?" Jake bites.

Sam turns his head toward Jacob, then squints his eyes. "That's different," he insists.

Jacob laughs just loud enough for Sam to hear. "It _is_ different," he says. He turns to face Sam, glaring at him. "Because _I _would _never _do that her."

"You think you know everything," Sam quips. He drops his arms to his side and leans closer to Jacob. His eyes flicker away from Jake for a second, focusing on something in the distance, but when he looks back at Jake, his stare is as intense as ever. "I hate to break it to you, _Black_, but there are some things that just can't be fixed.

"What?" he scoffs. Jacob doesn't dare break Sam's gaze, but he thinks he knows who Sam was looking at.

Sam takes a tiny step closer to Jacob, closing the small space between them. Sam leans in until their foreheads are inches from each other. "It was all fine and well when it was your damn Rabbit," he hisses, "but Leah has a heart. She's not a project, Jacob, she can't be rebuilt like a _damn_ car, so just leave it behind."

Jacob stands still for a second, stunned by what Sam said. A white hot sensation flows through his veins and he can feel his skin starting to ripple. He squeezes his fists and his jaw tightly, breathing deeply to calm himself. "I won't hit you," he says through clenched teeth, "because you're the alpha." He looks up to Sam, his eyes filled with fire. "But remember how easily that can be changed." He glares at Sam once more, then turns to walk away. He takes two steps, then turns back to Sam and says, "No one will ever hurt her as much as you." He turns back around before he can see Sam's reaction.

When he looks up, he notices that all the other people on the beach have frozen to watch him. He continues down the beach, fists balled up and jaw set tightly. He's halfway down the beach and to his car when he passes Leah.

"Jacob," she calls, but he doesn't stop. "Jacob!" She runs toward him, follows after him as he marches to his car. "What's-"

"I gotta go," Jacob interrupts, shrugging her off. She stands in place, confused, as Jacob makes his way out.

She shakes her head and runs to catch up with him again. "Wait! Jake! Wait!" she calls.

Jacob turns on his heel suddenly, causing Leah to crash into him. Jacob reaches his hands out to her, placing them on her biceps. He squeezes them, almost too tightly, and gazes deep into Leah's eyes. He's searching for something, but Leah can't tell what it is. His intensity is starting to scare her, but he's not letting up. Then, as suddenly as he caught her, he is crushing his lips against hers.

He kisses her hard enough to bruise, but somehow, she doesn't mind. He breathes heavily and the warm air tickles Leah's cheek. Jacob stops and backs away from her. He looks at her again, but his eyes are softer this time. He purses his lips together, then sighs heavily. "I'm with you because I want to be, okay? I _like_ you," he says, each word heavy with meaning. "Not for anything else. I like you and I want to be with you, okay?"

Leah's brow knits together. She stares at him, utterly confused. "What?"

Jacob bites his lower lip, then removes his hands from her. He shakes his head. "I gotta go," he says, turning toward his car. Leah watches as he walks away, then looks behind her. She catches eyes with Sam, who makes no effort to hide the fact that he has been watching the two of them. She lowers her gaze, embarrassed, then looks up to Jake.

"Wait!" she calls, running after him. "Jacob, wait!" She looks behind her once more, at Sam and the rest of the pack. She turns forward and picks up her speed. "I'm coming with."


	6. Author's Note

**A/N:** Hi Everybody! This isn't an actual update to the actual story, but a little bit of an update nonetheless.

I hadn't written anything for this story for about 3 or so years maybe, and I was 100% convinced that I was just gonna let it stay as it was forever, but then something changed. So now that I'm a few years older and a tiny little bit wiser, I'm planning on doing a little bit of a rewrite of this story. Tighten up the plot, add a few chapters, and hopefully (finally) finish it off. So please keep your eyes peeled in the weeks to come for an edited version of this!

Thanks everyone for your support, even through the dry periods. You all are the best, and are the reason I'm picking this back up!

Much love.

kirsten


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